On the net

Area municipalities are absorbing deep cuts in state transportation funding and, in some cases, struggling to keep local roads from deteriorating.

The state slashed $30 million this year from a program that provides local governments with a share of revenue from gas taxes and vehicle registration fees. As part of an effort to reduce the state budget deficit, Gov. Scott Walker approved cutting the program from about $433 million to $403 million.

Cities, towns and villages now are learning exactly how much they will lose under the first of four quarterly payments from the state, which were announced in April.

The city of Green Bay will see its annual share of state funds drop about 10 percent, from $3,532,909 to $3,179,920.

Green Bay officials said they have responded by cutting employee benefits and freezing about 30 vacant positions, including 12 in the public works department.

Green Bay Finance Director Dawn Foeller said the lost state aid has not created any slowdown on roadwork in the city.

"We're getting by with what we have," she said.

Many communities put the state aid into general funds rather than specifically earmark it for road improvements. But others indicate that the state cuts would directly or indirectly impact their ability to keep up with road maintenance.

Howard, which will see its state allocation drop from $841,000 to $760,000, had already been reducing its local spending on road repairs in recent years.

Chris Haltom, the village's finance director, said the lost state funding could result in even fewer roads getting the upkeep they require.

"It makes the budget a little bit tighter," Haltom said. "Time will tell whether we're going to be able to keep up."

Under the state's two-year budget, allocations under the General Transportation Aids program are set to remain unchanged next year at $403 million.

Mary Forlenza, chief of local transportation programs and finance for the state Department of Transportation, said the spending cuts were necessary to help the Walker administration eliminate a projected $3 billion deficit in the state budget.

(Page 2 of 2)

While acknowledging that road maintenance has suffered in some communities, Forlenza said the state is limited in how much it can help. If a municipality is not spending all of its funds, for example, that money could be shifted to anothermunicipality, Forlenza said.

"It's harder and harder to preserve roads," she said. "We're doing everything that we can. But we don't have a lot of flexibility."

Municipalities are using flexibility to adjust to the lost state aid.

De Pere used a combination of tax increases and spending cuts to absorb its estimated 10 percent loss, from $1.1 million to $1 million.

De Pere Finance Director Joe Zegers said the city anticipated some reduction after seeing the program slashed at the state level.

"We knew it was coming," Zegers said, "and we budgeted for it."

Bellevue, meanwhile, has taken steps to adjust to state transportation funding of about $280,000 this year, down from $315,000.

Bellevue Administrator Aaron Oppenheimer said the village reallocated resources to ensure that road maintenance would not be neglected. Among other things, some village employees took a pay freeze.

Oppenheimer said officials are hoping to see no change in the roadwork schedule.

"We've tried to plug that hole," he said. "We've tried to make sure our roads last as long as possible."